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The 
Wakefield Colony 




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The Wakefield Colony ^'"^ 



A Contribution to The 



Local History of Kansas 



By WILLIAM J. CHAPMAN, Ph. D. 

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(Univ. HaUe, 1904.) 



1907 

PUBLISHED AND PRINTED BY THE TIMES 

Clay Center, Kansas 






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\0 THE OLD SETTLERS of Wakefield and the surrounding 
country this narrative is dedicated in heartfelt appreciation 
of the interest they have taken in the author's efforts to 
recover the history of pioneer days. 



THE MATERIAL contained in the following narrative was, for the most 
part, collected during the Autumn and Winter of 1905. An article on 
the English Settlement at Victoria, ElUs Co., from the pen of Mr. R. T. 
Batchelor, which appeared in the Wakefield Advertiser January 21, 1898, first 
suggested the idea of a history of the beginnings of Wakefield. In the year 
1899 the writer corresponded with several of the older residents of the town 
but was not successful in getting them to record the story of pioneer days. 
In consequence, the plan was laid aside for three or four years. The history 
in its present form does not claim to be exhaustive, although every care has 
been taken to render it accurate. 

Hosmer HaU, Hartford, Conn., Oct. 26, 1906. 



The Wakefield Colony. 



The English Settlement at Wake- 
field, Clay Co., was one of four Euro- 
pean colonies that came out to Kansas 
nearly forty years ago. The following 
pages recount the story of its begin- 
nings. Doubtless fuller information 
might be gleaned by one who had time 
to devote to the task. The writer has 
had access to the following sources of 

information: 

I. 

WRITTEN OR PRINTED SOURCES. 

1. Addresses delivered by Mr. J. B. 
Quinby, Dr. Burt and Rev. Richard 
Wake, at the Old Settlers' Reunion 
Oct. 10, 1894. The two first-named 
addresses appeared in the Wakefield 
Advertiser Oct. 25, 1894. Rev. Mr. 
Wake's address was published in the 
same paper Nov. 8, 1894. 

2. The Wakefield Herald, Vol. 1, 
No. 3, April, 1871. (By the courtesy 
of Mrs. Wm. Sparrowhawk.) 

3. Miscellaneous printed matter, 
including a copy of the "Star of Em- 
pire" (now unfortunately lost.) 

4. Three maps belonging to Mr. J. 
P. Marshall of the Wakefield Co-ope- 
rative Association. The earhest of 
these is a map of the region north and 
northwest of Junction City. It shows 
the area of settlement shortly before 
the coming of the Enghsh colony. 
The other two are maps of Wakefield 
and vicinity. The earUer of the two 
was made in the year 1874 and has been 
invaluable in determining the location 
of the settlers, and in furnishing clues 
in the search for oral information. 



5. The Plat-Book Maps. These are 
contained in a subscription work en- 
titled an "Historical Plat-Book of Clay 
County," published by the Bird and 
Mickle Map Co., Chicago, 111., 1881. 

For the use of much of the printed 
material my especial thanks is due to 
Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Lumb of Wake- 
field. 

Official Records: It is a matter of 
great regret that none of the Official 
Records of the Wakefield Colony have 
been available. In a letter addressed 
to the writer and dated Salt Lake City, 
Feb. 1, 1899, the Rev. Richard Wake 
says: 

"The records of the 'Company' were 
retained by Mr. Maitland when he re- 
moved to Washington and T presume 
were destroyed in the great Seattle 
fire which consumed his property a 
number of years ago." 
II. 
ORAL INFORMATION. 

Information has been gathered from 
all the old settlers with whom I have 
had the opportunity of conversing, but 
especially from the following persons: 
Messrs. William Guy, John Chapman, 
R. T. Batchelor, J. P. Marshall, H. S. 
Walter, T. C. Roscoe, E. R. Hawes, E. 
Eustace, T. Beldham, H. W. Budden; 
Mrs. WiUiam Sparrowhawk, and Mr. 
and Mrs. W. E. Lumb. For additional 
particulars I am indebted to Messrs. 
WiUiam Seal and A. R. Goffin, and also 
to the Rev. R. O. Mackintosh, rector 
of St. George's church, for his kindness 
in furnishing information concerning 
the English settlers in Union township. 



The Wakefield Colony 



I. 

Republican Township Before the Coming of 
the English. 



The earliest American settlers in this 
neighborhood came in the years 1856 
and iS57. In April of the former year 
Moses, William and Jeremiah Young- 
kens and John King, from Somerset, 
Co., Pennsylvania, settled on Timber 
Creek, in what is now Grant township. 
(Mr. King died at his home near Wake- 
field May 22, 1906, aged 72 years.) 
The followinf" year (1857) was marked 
by the com':i;; of the first New Eng- 
land settlers, when Messrs. J. B. Quin- 
by and W. E. Payne settled in S. E. 
Republican. Persons belonging to the 
Pennsylvania colony say that the pop- 
ulation of Somerset Co. was of mixed 
origin containing both Scotch -Irish 
and Pennsylvania Dutch elements. 
They believe the date of settlement to 
go back to the close of the colonial 
period. The New England settlers 
were colonial Americans of Enghsh 
descent. In the Autumn of 1867 came 
another group of settlers. Lorenzo 
Gates, John Gill and Wilham MaU, lo- 
cated higher up the river where the 
names of GatesviUe and Mall Creek 
commemorate them. The Mall fam- 
ily were natives of Baden, in South 
Germany. In 1858 the New England 
colony was reinforced by the coming 
of Rev. William Todd, formerly a mis- 
sionary at Madura, in Southern India. 
The first actual settler on the site of 
Wakefield was James Gilbert who 
came in 1858. 

"In the Summer of 1858 James Gil- 
bert and family took up their residence 
there (i. e. the 80 south of Wakefield), 
he filing on it. * * They remained 
about two years and during that time 
built a larger and better house a few 
rods north of the present site of Wake- 
field, which was occupied by them in 
1859, making them the first settlers 
actually living in what is now Wake- 



field. In the Sisring of 1860 he very 
suddenly left the country and his fam- 
ily soon followed." (Address by J. B. 
Quinby Esq., Oct. 10, 1894.) 

The settlers, few as they were, were 
much depleted by the troublous times 
of the Civil War. 

"In 1860, there were eleven famiUes 
in the Quinby neighborhood. In 1863 
J. B. Quinby and Ed Kei'by were the 
only men left there. John Butler, 
Lorenzo Gates and Jacob Mall were 
the only ones left on Mall Creek." 

Henry Avery Esq., of this city, rec- 
ollects having been on picket duty at 
Fort Riley when the news of the burn- 
ing of Lawrence (Aug. 21, 1863) came 
to the frontier settlements. 

Dr. Eurt, who came to Kansas in the 
Sirring of 1868, has thus described the 
area of settlement: 

"In coming from Bachelor, now 
Milford, the first house after leaving 
Mr. Hopkins' this side of the river, 
was Mr. Quinby's log cabin, then Mr. 
Todd's stone house, then an old-fash- 
ioned log cabin where Mr. Pajme's 
house now stands, then a log house in 
what is now Wakefield. * * The 
next house to the north was, I think, 
Harvey Ramsey's, and the next ones 
were in the Avery district, which 
seemed well on toward Clay Centre. 
* * There was a cabin at the river 
where Mr. Manual now fives, then oc- 
cupied by Mr. North, of pleasant 
memories — we used to hunt wild tur- 
keys from there. To the west Mr. 
Kerby's, also of logs, was, I think, the 
only house between us and Chapman 
Creek — we had to go half way to Junc- 
tion City before finding a house." 

"The first public improvement I 
heard of after I came was to finish 
school house No. 8, so it could be used 
as a meeting house." 

"In January, 1870, there were no 
houses between Clay Centre and Fancy 
Creek, between Clay Centre and Chap- 
man's Creek, nor between the head of 
Chapman's Creek and Wakefield." 



The Wakefield Colony 



II. 
The Origin of the Kansas Land and Emigration 

Company. 



The Rev. Richard Wake, to Y^'hom 
the first impulse toward the formF.tion 
of an Enghsh colony in this neighbor- 
hood was due, came to the United 
States in 1854, settling at first near New 
York. In 1859 he removed to Illinois. 
Soon after the close of the Civil War 
he began to advocate through the 
Enghsh press the advantages of colo- 
nization on the western prairies Two 
parties of Enghshmen were in this way 
settled in the vicinity of Lincoln, Neb. 
Mr. Wake subsequently returned to 
Ilhnois and, as he tells us, did not an- 
ticipate further experience in coloni- 
zation. 

At least three separate factors may 
be traced in the formation of the 
"Company" that colonized Wakefield. 
Mr. R. H. Drew was a land agent in 
London, and Mr. Wake was also widely 
known in Great Britain through his 
advocacy of the prairie states as a field 
for immigration. At the same time, 
Mr. John Wormald, of Wakefield, 
Yorkshire, was anticipating the forma- 
tion of an Enghsh settlement in north- 
ern Missouri. By what chain of cir- 
cumstances these gentlemen were led 
to merge their respective purposes in 
a single plan, the writer confesses 
himself uninformed. Those of their 
number who were in England seem to 
have reahzed the advisabihty of en- 
hsting the services of Mr. Wake, and, 
with this in view, to have opened cor- 
respondence with him. The corres- 
pondence at first took the form of a 
request for information concerning 
Government Lands in Kansas and 
Nebraska. How the first inquiries de- 
veloped into a colonial enterprise may 
best be told in IVIr. Wake's own words: 
"Later a scheme was proposed for 
the purchase of a large tract of land 
tor co-operative farming and asking 



my advice on the merits of the scheme 
generally. I discouraged the co-op- 
erative features of the plan, but was 
in favor of associative immigration on 
a plan which would give to each settler 
individual ownership of land and ab- 
solute control of the products of his 
own labor, and proposed the plan 
adopted later of the purchase of a large 
tract of land by a few who should sell 
it again in quantities to suit, at a slight 
advance over cost, to first settlers, de- 
pending upon later sales for profit on 
the investment. Late in June, 1S69, I 
received a cablegram saying, 'Select 
100,000 acres in Kansas for colony,' and 
on the 8th of July I arrived in Topeka. 
* * I came west to Junction City 
with a letter of introduction to Capt. 
Pierce. July 12th we took a team to 
view the land lying between the Re- 
publican river and Chapman Creek, 
taking the divide west of Junction City 
and following it to the head of Chap- 
man Creek. We saw but one house 
between the two points. 1869 was a 
fruitful year. Grass in the ravines 
would meet above the backs of the 
horses, and on the high-land was knee 
high or more. Reaching on our re- 
turn the present site of Wakefield, I 
thought, as I looked down the vaUey, 
I had never seen a more beautiful 
landscape. 

"Seciiring the withdrawal of the land 
from the market, I reported to Lon- 
don, and in August Messrs. Wormald, 
Maitland,Batchelor and others arrived, 
Messrs. Wormald and Maitland being 
empowered to purchase the land if it 
met their approval." 

The purchase of the land was ratified 
by Messrs. Wormald and Maitland and 
steps were immediately taken to or- 
ganize the colony. The land that was 
purchased is thus described by Mr. 
Quinby: 

"Their tract of land consisted of the 
odd sections in the vicinity of Wake- 
field, and held by the Union Pacific 
Railroad, from whom they purchased 
it." On the same subject Mr. Wake 
says : "Contracts were made wi^li t.he 
Kansas Railroad Co. and the National 
Land Co. for 32,000 acres at a cost of 



The Wakefield Colony 



.$102,000, one-fifth being paid down at 
the time of purchase." 

The following list of the pioneers of 
Wakefield was fui-nished by Mr. R. T. 
Batchelor : 

The pioneer party consisting of 
Messrs. Wormald, Maitlandand others 
sailed from England on the Steamship 
Main (J^orth German Lloyd) on Aug. 
3, 1869, and arrived in New York the 
13th, reaching Jmiction City about the 
21st of the same month. The party 
included : 

Mr. John Wormald of Wakefield, 
Yorkshire. 

Mr. Alexander Maitland, of London, 
afterwards ' "r^retary of the Kansas 
Land & Env; Aition Co., and one of 
the director, of the colony. 

Mr. Spence, the agricultural director 
of the proposed co-operative colonv. 

Mr. 11. T. Batchelor, Mrs. R. T. 
Batchelor and two children, of Fare- 
hara, Hampshire. 

Mr. Martin. 

Mr. Stone (afterwards removed to 
Topeka.) 

Mr. Fitzgibbons, the first proprietor 
of the "eighty" adjoining Wakefield 
on the S. W. known as the Allaway 
farm. 

August the 25th, 1869, the founders 
of the colony were incorporated as the 
Kansas Land & Emigration Co., and 
on the day following the townsite was 
formally laid out. A cairn of stones 
was raised on the slope of Cedar Bluff 
and in it was deposited a parchment 
certifying the founding of the town 
and naming the parties therein con- 
cerned. The cairn stood near the 
present site of Dr. Hewitt's residence. 



The Plat-Book makes the following 
statement about the beginnings of 
Wakefield: 

"The town was laid out by the Kan- 
sas Land and Emigration Company, 
consisting of Richard Wake, John 
Wormald, Alexander Maitland, Col. 
Loomis, C. Wake, R. H. Drew and J. 
D. Bennett. The four first named of 
these selected the townsite of Wake- 
field Aug. 26, 1869. Col. Loomis named 
the town "Wakefield" partly in honor 
of the President of the Company and 
partly because Wakefield, England, 
was the former home of John Worm- 
aid, the Secretary of the Company." 

Col. Loomis, who named the town, 
was president of the National Land 
Co., and hke the Rev. Richard Wake, 
a citizen of Ilhnois. His connection 
with Wakefield was due to the fact 
that the EngUsh colony acquired a 
part of their hand from the National 
Land Co. 

On Oct. 6th the first large party of 
colonists arrived, and on the 12th of 
the same month the stockholders of 
the Company met for permanent or- 
ganization in the Hale House at Junc- 
tion City. 

The new corporation henceforth ap- 
pears as "The Kansas Land and Emi- 
gration Company, incorporated Aug. 
25,1869." The capital for the enterprise 
was furnished by Mr. John Wormald 
who invested a fortune of $72,000 in 
the Wakefield colony. 

We pass now from the formation of 
the company to the story of the set- 
tlers whom its inducements brought 
out to the prairies of Kansas. 



The Wakefield Colony 



III. 
The English Settlers. 



The Kansas Land and Emigration 
Company aimed from the start to 
stimulate the immigration of EngUsh 
settlers. Popular tradition charges 
the advertising material employed 
with being highly colored and not 
wanting in dehberate misstatement. 
In his address Mr. Quinby puts the 
matter more dispassionately : 

"To colonize their lands, their pros- 
pectuses and advertisements were 
circulated wholly in England, and the 
colonists were mostly Enghsh trades- 
people from the cities, a poor class to 
settle up a new country." (Address 
Oct. 10, 1894.) 

Yet in all fairness to the new comers 
it must be said that the hardships of 
pioneer life were such as neither 
townsman nor landsman were pre- 
pared to meet. In many instances it 
was precisely the experienced Enghsh 
farmer who proved least adapted to 
the new conditions. He had as much 
to learn and more to imlearn than the 
townspeople had. 

Some of the earhest English settlers 
came out independently of the Com- 
pany's plans. Foremost among these 
were Messrs. P. Gilhes and H. S. Wal- 
ter. Mr. Walter has kindly furnished 
the following account of his coming 
to Kansas: 

"I met Mr. GilHes (who had been in 
Junction about two weeks) the day I 
arrived in Jvmction City, Aug. 11, 1869, 
and the next day took up land in Re- 
publican Township, on section 28, ad- 
joining Dr. Burt." 

Mr. Walter also gives some addi- 
tional particulars concerning the pio- 
neers of the Kansas Land and Emi- 
gration Company. He says: 

"The pioneer party who came Aug. 
21st consisted of R. Wake, J. Worm- 
aid, Spence, Miller, Maitland, George 
Gates and a j'omig man named Meek, 
all of London, England, and also Mr. 
Loomis, Land Agent, of New York." 

Messrs. Savage and Wooley were 



also in the neighborhood before the 
coming of the Wakefield colonists. 
They hved in the same district and 
owned claims not far from that of Mr. 
Walter. 

The first large party of settlers came 
over on the steamship Nebraska, of 
the Guion Line, saihng from Liverpool 
on Sept. 15, 1869, and reaching New 
York on the 29th. The voyage is re- 
membered as an exceptionally stormy 
one. The party came west by way of 
the Great Lakes, visiting Niagara Falls 
en route, and arrived in Junction City 
on Oct. 6th. The number of persons, 
old and young, comprised in the "Ne- 
braska party" amomited to 77. The 
following hst of its members was fur- 
nished me by Messrs. John Chapman 
and WiUiam Guy: 

Mr. James BiUingham (Warwick- 
shire.') 

Mr. and Mrs. Boyce. 

Mr. John Parington Alsop (was the 
eldest son of Mr. William Alsop, one 
of the leaders of a subsequent party.) 

Rev. Joseph Binns. 

Mr. Samuel Binns. 

Mr. and Mrs. Ison (from Wolver- 
ham.) 

All of whom came from the West 
Midlands. 

Mr. John Muston (Lincolnshire.) 

Mr. Christopher Deere, Mr. John 
Deere (Buckinghamshire.) 

The foregoing were from the East 
Midlands. 

Mr. William Guy, (Sussex) A native 
of the parish of Ripe (1833), seven 
miles from Lewes; proprietor of one 
of our leading business houses, and 
my principal informant concerning 
the early history of Wakefield. 

Mr. Abner Shrives (Sussex.) 

Mr. John Chapman (Somerset), My 
father was a native of Montacute, in 
Somerset,where my grandfather (John 
Chapman Sr.) and great-grandfather 
(Zacharias Chapman) were quai-ry 
owners and stone merchants, the 
quarry (^Ham Hill) being leased of the 
Duchy of Cornwall. 

Mr. George Taylor (Somerset.) 



10 



The Wakefield Colony 



Mr. T. P. Pettigrew (Hampshire.) 

Mr. John Spooner and family (Lon- 
don.) 

The foregoing all came from the 
south or southwest of England. 

Other members of the party were : 

Mr. H. H. Meade. 

Mr. Edward Moore. 

Mr. Poppleton and family. 

Mr. Johnson. 

Mr. GwjTi. 

Mr. John Cole. 

Mr. and Mrs. Butcher. 

Mr. and Mrs. Woodward. 

The party arrived in Junction City 
on Wednesday , Oct. 6th, and celebi*ated 
their arrival by holduig a religious and 
social gathering at the Methodist 
church, corner of 8th and Jackson, on 
which occasion the Rev. Joseph Binns 
was one of the principal speakers. 

During the Winter settlers came 
singly or by famiUes. Mr. John Pett 
(from Cambridgeshire) came out as 
agent for Mr. Docking. He reached 
Junction City Dec. 6, 1869, and in the 
following Spring moved out on a farm 
southwest of Wakefield. Information 
concerning others who came during 
the Winter is not now obtainable. 

Not many weeks passed before the 
English began to feel the hardships of 
pioneer hfe. My father, who was 
staying with the Rev. Wilham Todd at 
Madura, had a severe attack of inflam- 
matory rheumatism. No one thought 
he would recover. To add to his dan- 
ger, his landlady, Mrs. Todd, was at 
this time afflicted with a felon. Under 
these circumstances it became neces- 
sary to move him to another house. 
He was carried, at the dead of Winter, 
from the Todd farm to the home of 
Mr. William Streeter. At the Streeter 
homestead he lay in an unplastered 
upper room whose only ceihng was a 
roof of badly warped native lumber 
shingles. At night he could see the 
bhnk of the stars and in stormy 
weather the snow sifted in on his bed. 
What this must have been to one suf- 
fering with rheumatic fever can be but 
faintly imagined. 



The dry continental climate with it& 
fitful and \'iolent changes of tempera- 
ture proved very trying to the Enghsh 
Settlers. Those who were here during 
the first winter recall a memorable 
storm that occurred on the 16th of 
January, 1870. It was a Sunday morn- 
ing, and the weather dehghtfuUy mild, 
when a party of nine started for the 
Madura School House to attend the 
preaching service. Messrs, BiUingham 
and Guy, a runaway midshipman 
named Broome, and, if my memory 
serves me, a Mr. Laundy, the first pro- 
prietor of the Moutelle farm in Union 
Township, were in the party. While 
the meeting was in progress the wind 
veered to the north and blew at the 
rate of about 60 knots an hour. The 
temperature fell very rapidly. Mr. 
Todd told his hearers that he had 
never seen but one storm as bad, and 
that no one could drive a team in the 
face of such a hurricane. But those 
who had come from Wakefield re- 
solved to make a dash for the Pioneer 
House. The distance to be covered 
was a httle more than two miles. 
Young Broome was the first to reach 
the house, but he was so benumed with 
the cold that he could not open the 
door. He had to wait in the tempest 
till others came to his assistance. 

The continual privation of pioneer 
life was harder to bear than its occa- 
sional sufferings. In Winter a large 
part of one's time must be consumed 
in getting wood and water. To set- 
tlers on the high prairie this often 
meant a journey of several miles. 
Besides all this, there was a serious 
economic drawback. The coimtry had 
scarcely recovered from the effects of 
the Civil War and for many commo- 
dities one must stiU pay "war time" 
prices. This had much to do with the 
apparent failure of the colony during 
its earlier years. 

The Spring of 1870 was marked by 
the coming of a second party of colo- 
nists. They were for the most part 



The Wakefield Colony 



11 



from Montgomeryshire, in Wales, or 
from tlie adjoining English county of 
Shropshire. The leader of the party 
was Mr. WilUam Alsop who invested 
very considerable capital in the settle- 
ment of Wakefield. The Alsop party 
sailed from Liverpool in the steamship 
Colorado (Guion Line) on Wednesday, 
the 6th of April, 1870. They set out 
from New York on Tuesday, the 19th, 
and reached Kansas City on the fol- 
lowing Saturday. On Monday, the 
25th, they were met at Jvmction City 
by the Rev. Richard Wake. 

The following persons were mem- 
bers of the party. 

Mr. Wilham Alsop and family (Co. 
Montgomery) Known at Wakefield as 
Mr. Wilham Alsop of Cain's Creek. 

Mr. Richard Alsop and family (Co. 
Montgomery.) 

Mr. Edward Jones and family (Co. 
Montgomery. ) 

Mr. T. C. Roscoe, of Union Town- 
ship (sec. 22), my principal informant 
on the history of the Alsop party. 

Mr. S. E. Richards, Proprietor of the 
Wakefield Cash Store. 

Mr. Wilham Richards, brother of 
the preceding. 

Mr. Thomas Newell. 

Mr. Thomas Woods. 

Mr. Swinbourne (from Cumberland.) 

Mr. Wilham Dalton (Warwickshire.) 

Mr. Farmer, subsequently a mer- 
chant in White City. 

Mr. Richard Bird. 

Mr. Bird, brother of the preceding. 

Mr. J. W. Sampson, aftewards re- 
moved to the western part of the State, 
probably to Osborne County. 

IVIr. I. W. Thomas (from Cornwall.) 

Mr. A. R. Gofiin, from London, also 
came out on the Colorado, although 
he was not a member of the Alsop 
party. 

A settler by the name of Seimew (or 
Siemee) came out about the same time 
as the aforementioned and took a 
claim in Union Township. 

A smaller party consisting of Mr. 
James Eustace, Mr. and Mrs. Jardine, 
Miss Kynaston (an aimt of the Reed 
brothers), Mr. Alfred Taylor (brother 
of George Taylor who came out on the 
Nebraska), Mrs. John Chapman, her 
two children, Miss Jennie Taylor (with 



Mrs. Chapman as her companion), and 
a servant girl named Hai-riet, also 
came out in April, 1870. The writer 
has the distinction of being one of 
the two children before-mentioned. 
This party sailed on the City of 
Washington, one of the swiftest 
and best equipped vessels afloat. 
In New York they stayed at the 
Astor House and found American 
travel decidedly expensive. None of 
them had any notion of what pioneer 
fife was hke. Of course they took it 
for granted that America was an El 
Dorado. 

In April, 1870, Mr. Benjamin Budden, 
a naturahzed American, came from 
Ilhnois. He was a native of Eridport, 
in Dorset, but had hved in America for 
several years. In May of the same 
year two brothers named YarroU and 
a young man named John Brett, from 
Hastings, in Sussex, came to Wake- 
field. They hved temporarily in a 
"dug-out" on the Geoi-ge Taylor farm 
southwest of Wakefield. Mr. Brett 
was a brother and Mr. Joseph YarroU 
the first husband of Mrs. T. C. Roscoe. 

The coming of the Enghsh colony 
greatly increased the number of voters 
in Clay County, as the following quo- 
tation from the Plat-Book will show: 

"The number of votes cast in 1866 
was 112; in 1867, 155; in 1868, 196; in 
1869, 232; in 1870, 482; in 1871, 1,003; in 
1872, 955; in 1873, 1,158. * * The 
number of votes cast in 1880 was 
2,672." 

In the year 1870 Kansas suffered from 
a severe drought. The experience of 
the settlers seemed in almost every 
respect to behe the glowing reports 
that had lured them to the far West. 
On every side they murmured against 
the founders of the colony as the Is- 
raelites of old did against Moses and 
Aaron. Mr. Wake was especially 
blamed. They charged him with being 
the author of their calamities. 

Late in the j^ear 1870 Mr. Alexander 
Maitland, the Secretary of the Kansas 
Land and Emigration Company, re- 



12 



The Wakefield Colony 



visited Great Britain and during his 
absence the man whom he had left in 
charge of his property pillaged the 
house and tossed his papers and cor- 
respondence out of doors. After this 
high-handed proceeding the culprit 
fled to Missouri. 
About the same time Mr. James 



Eustace also returned to England for 
the piH-pose of organizing another 
party of settlers. But in spite of the 
most strenuous efforts on the part of 
the Kansas Land and Emigration Com- 
pany, the tide of immigration was 
checked. 



The Wakefield Colony 



13 



IV. 



The Organization of the Colony. 



The Wakefield Colony was remark- 
able for the number and variety of its 
"organization." Tlie most important 
of these were, The Kansas Land and 
Emigration Company; The Wakefield 
Bridge and Ferry Company; The Ag- 
ricultural and Literary Society; and 
the Wakefield General Market Com- 
pany. The Settlement also boasted a 
newspaper — The Wakefield Herald, 
printed at the Union OflSice m Jxmction 
City. 

Much difference of opinion exists as 
to the original name of the Wakefield 
paper. My father thinks that it was 
called "The Star of Empire." Others 
are equally positive that from the be- 
ginning it was called "The Wakefield 
Herald." A pubhcation called "The 
Star of Empire" certainly did exist, a 
copy having formerly been in my pos- 
session, but it may have been simply 
a prospectus printed and circulated in 
England. It was printed in newspaper 
form and bore the well-known motto 
from Bishop Berkeley, "Westward the 
star of empire takes its way." As re- 
gards the societies or corporations 
previously enumerated, the following 
items of information may be foiuid in 
the Wakefield Herald, Vol. 1, No. 3, 
April, 1871 : 

(1) The Kansas Land and Emigra- 
tion Company, incorporated Aug. 25, 
1869. General Office, Wakefield, Kan. ; 
Branch Office, Cor. 10th & Washington 
Strs., Junction City, Kan. Directors: 
John Wormald, Alexander Maitland, 
Richard Wake, Wakefield; Charles 
Wake Jr., Junction City; J. W. Ben- 
nett, John Brown, Morris, lU.; Harry 
D'Oyle, London, England; R. H. 
Drew, Sydenham, England. Officers: 
R.Wake, Pres.; A. Maitland, Sec'y; 
J. Wormald, Treas. Agents : Charles 
Wake, Junction City; Robert H. Drew, 
2 Gresham Bldgs., Basinghall St., Lon- 
don, E. C; John Miller, 13 GodUman 
St., London, England. 



(2) The Wakefield Ferry and Bridge 
Co., incorporated May 30, 1870. Pres., 
James Euatace; Ferryman, William 
Guy. 

(3) The Agricultural and Literary 
Society. This organization was one 
of the most characteristic features of 
the colony and its proceedings occupy 
considerable space in the columns of 
the Wakefield Herald. From the issue 
previously cited we take the following 
announcement : 

"Agricultural and Literary Society: 
Every Wednesday evening, 7 o'clock, 
at the Hall. Pres., J. E. Burton; V. 
Pres., R. Wake; Sec'y, T. P. Pettigrew; 
Treas., J. Eustace; Exec. Com., Alex- 
ander Maitland, W. Eustace, C. In- 
gram, J. B. Quinby, R. N. Cowdery." 

Of the recorded proceedings of the 
Society we note the following: 

Wakefield, Jan. 25, 1871. Poorly at- 
tended, general conversation. 

Feb. 1st. Dairy Farming, Rev. R. 
Wake. 

Feb. 8th. Tree Culture, Mr. Gray. 

Feb. 14th. Economy on the Farm, 
Mr. T. North. 

Feb. 22nd. A discussion was held 
on the question of building a bridge 
on the Repubhcan River at Clay Cen- 
tre. 

"Messrs. J. W. Burton and others 
spoke against the proposition to issue 
coimty bonds to the amount of 325,000 
to build the bridge." 

"It was also stated that a bridge will 
be built at Wakefield for one -half the 
sum, which would be a greater con- 
venience to a large part of the coxintrj'' 
than one at Clay Centre." 

Mar. 1st. "Committee on Pubhc 
Roads recommended the opening of 
roads on various section lines in the 
vicinity of Wakefield." 

Mar. 8th. J. B. Quinby, Esq., gave 
an address on "Opening a Farm." In 
accordance with a vote of the society 
this address was printed in full in the 
April Number of the Wakefield Her- 
ald. (T. P. Pettigrew, Secretary.) 

(5) The Wakefield General Market 



14 



The Wakefield Colony 



Co, In the Spring of 1871 the estab- 
hshment of a Monthly Live Stock 
Market was proposed by Messrs. Wil- 
liam Alsop of Cain's Creek and John 
Chapman of Wakefield. The Wake- 
field Herald thus announces the for- 
mation of the new Company: 

"We are pleased to be able to an- 
nounce the opening of a Monthly 
Market at Wakefield for the sale of 
cattle and all kinds of Uve stock." 

Organization: Pres.,Wilham Alsop; 
Sec'y, E.. Wake; Treas., J. B. Quinby. 
Directors: W. Alsop, J. Chapman, E. 
Jones, J. B. Quinby, C. Fulhngton, R. 
Wake and A. Maitland. 

At the time of the publication of the 
April issue of the Wakefield Herald 
the Market Square was being enclosed 
with a board fence. 

CHURCHES. 

While the various organizations per- 
taining to the Wakefield Colony are 
under consideration it will be fitting 
to give some accoiuit of the churches. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church, 
imder the pastorate of Rev. R. Wake, 
met in the Public HaU at Wakefield. 



The Building was situated near the 
northwest corner of the old Market 
Square on the west side. The first 
Sunday School Supt. was Mr. James 
Dodson, who also held the office of 
County Supt. of PubUc Instruction. 
He still resides at Wakefield as its old- 
est inhabitant. 

The Union Church, with Rev. Wil- 
liam Todd and Rev. Edward Moore as 
co-pastors, worshipped in School 
House No. 8 at Madiu-a. The Madura 
church was afterward affihated with 
the Congregational body, and when 
the new building was erected in Wake- 
field the name of "Madura Congrega- 
tional Church" was retained. 

The Episcopal church was organized 
some years later, its first vestry meet- 
ing having been held on Oct. 14, 1874. 
St. John's Church was subsequently 
erected on the northeast corner of the 
half section belonging to Mr. Charles 
Ingram. The church building was 
dedicated in the Spring of 1876. 



The Wakefield Colony 



15 



V. 
Colonists from the Upper Thames Valley. 



In spite of the severe check which 
the stream of immigration received 
in the year 1870, it subsequently un- 
derwent a partial revival. The Wake- 
field Herald thus notices the coming 
of the next large party of settlers : 

"We learn that James Eustace Esq., 
will leave England for Wakeiield on 
the 5th of April, accompanied by a 
large party of English agriculturahsts, 
whom he has prevailed upon to re- 
move to the broad prairies of Kansas. 
Golden opportunities await them 
here." (Wakefield Herald, April, 
1871.) 

It was, perhaps, the business rela- 
tions that existed between some of the 
Oxfordshire colonists and George 
Grand Esq., the founder of the Enghsh 
colony at Victoria, Blhs Co., that led 
Noble L. Prentis to place the begin- 
nings of Wakefield in the year 1871. 
In his history of Kansas he says : 

"In 1871 the Kansas Pacific sold to a 
Swedish colony, in Saline county, 22,000 
acres; to an Enghsh colony, in Clay 
coimty, 32,000 acres, and to a Welch 
colony, in Riley county, 19,000 acres. 
In 1873 George Grant, of England, 
purchased of the Kansas Pacific Com- 
pany 5u,000 acres in the eastern por- 
tion of Elhs county, with the design 
of colonizing Enghsh people of 
means." (History of Kansas, p. 146.) 
So far as the date is concerned, the 
historian is evidently mistaken, for at 
the time spoken of the Enghsh colony 
in Clay county had been in existence 
very nearly two years. The efforts 
made in 1871 to retrieve the fortunes 
of the Wakefield colony brought it 
more prominently before the pubUc 
eye, and may, not vmnaturaUy, have 
created the impression that it origi- 
nated at that time. 

The first party belonging to the new 
stream of immigration we shall term 
the "Sparrowhawk party," Mr. Robert 
Sparrowhawk being one of its leading 
members. The Wakefield Herald, as 



we have seen, states that it was con- 
ducted by James Eustace, Esq., and 
fixes the date of its departure from 
England, on April 5, 1871. Mr. Eus- 
tace, it will be remembered, came out 
on the "City of Washington" in 1870 
and had in the meantime revisited 
England. 

The names of the following persons 
belonging to the Sparrowhawk party 
were furnished by Mr. E. R. Hawes 
and Mrs. Wilham Sparrowhawk: 

Mr. and Mrs. R. Sparrowhawk and 
family, from Aston under Wychwood, 
Oxfordshire. 

Mr. and Mrs, Tilbury and family: 
Mr. Tilbury returned to England and 
was afterwards a curate at Exeter. 

Mr. and Mrs. Shirley and family. 

Mr. and Mrs. B. R. Hawes; settled 
on the Geo. Taylor farm; are now Uv- 
ing in Wakefield. Mr. Hawes is one 
of my informants concerning the party 
of which he was a member. 

Mr. and Mrs. Cox and family. 

Mr. and Mrs. James Loader and 
family. 

Mr. Bettridge. 

Mr. Herman Walter. 

Mr. Wilham Thurlow. 

Mr. Richard Jones (brother of Mrs. 
James Loader.) 

Mr. and Mrs. Arkell and family. 

Mr. and Mrs. Parsons. 

Mrs. Wight man (Uved just east of 
Tom Keller's place.) 

Most of these came from Oxford- 
shire and adjoining counties, the 
streams of which flow into the Thames, 
and may, therefore, be described as 
settlers from the Upper Thames valley. 

Among others who came from Ox- 
fordshire about this time were the 
CUnches. Their names were Harold, 
Charles and Duncan Chnch. The two 
first named were sons, the third a 
nephew, of a wealthy brewer in Wit- 
ney on the Windrush. Witney, so the 
local saying affirms, is famed for four 
B's— "beauty, bread, beer and blank- 
ets." During their Btay at Wakefield, 



16 



The Wakefield Colony 



Messrs. Charles and Harold Clinch en- 
gaged in sheep and cattle raising. 
Their father supplied them with ample 
capital for the enterprise — not less 
than 40 or 50 thousand dollars, it is 
said. In addition, Duncan Clinch re- 
ceived an allowance of $75.00 a month 
from his father. Prank Harris, an 
experienced shepherd, was commis- 
sioned to bring out some 65 or 70 pure 
blooded sheep of the best Enghsh 
breeds. The CUnches also imported 
several head of choice cattle and two 
Clydesdale stallions that subsequently 
took the premium at the Topeka State 
Fair. Although a claim was taken up 
in their interest, by one of the Buckles 
on sec. 24 in Gill township, they made 
their headquarters nearer Wakefield. 
They kept "bachelors' hall" at Chill 
Creek, on what is now known as the 
Haynes' farm, then owned by Mr. 
Lewinton Howse. But in spite of 
abundant means, the young men did 
not adapt themselves to pioneer life. 
Their domestic arrangements and 
housekeeping are said to have resem- 
bled those of primitive man, and many 
anecdotes are told of their father's 
disg-ust when he visited Wakefield. 

Among other settlers from Oxford- 
shire were Mr. H. B. Jones, afterwards 
a druggist in Industry, Kan. Mr. 
Thomas Irons is said to have come 
from the same coimty. Messrs. Cum- 
ber and (Charles) Harris, who held 
claims on the south halves of sections 
26 and 22, respectively, in Gill town- 
ship, were also Oxfordshire people. 
The Buckle family, to whom reference 
has already been made, were from 
Cawbury in Wychwood (Oxfordshire), 
having hved on a farm that had been 
cleared under the disafforesting act. 
The family consisted of Mr. and Mrs. 
Buckle, three sons (Ted, Will and 
Charley) and two or three daughters, 
one of whom married the Rev. J. H. 
Young, an Episcopal clergyman. The 
Buckle homestead was the south J^ 
of the N. E. }i of sec. 26 in GiU town- 



ship. The Rev. J. H. Y''oung lived on 
the south half, on the farm now owned 
by my brother, Mr. Herbert Chapman. 

In the meantime matters went from 
bad to worse at Chill Creek. The 
Clinch brothers ran up bills of from 
^100.00 to ii?150.00 yearly for tobacco 
and similar luxuries, and the ranch 
proved anything but a success. At 
length Mr. Clinch Sr., decided to come 
out and see things for himself. He 
was thoroughly incensed at his sons' 
shpshod ways and after satisfying him- 
self that the enterprise would not suc- 
ceed, he sold out and took his sons and 
nephew back to England. The flock 
of sheep were disposed of to George 
Grant, Esq., then engaged in founding 
the English colony at Victoria, ElUs 
Co. While Mr. Clinch was in Wake- 
field a cattle show was held, at which 
he presided as judge. In this capacity 
he awarded the prize of a silver cup 
(for the best bull shown) to the Giff ord 
brothers of Hillside. Mr. Clinch had 
already sold out and returned to Eng- 
land when Mr. Edwin Eustace visited 
Ellis Co. in the Spring of 1874. 

The events just related may be said 
to close the first chapter in the history 
of Wakefield. The colony rapidly lost 
its associative character. The monthly 
market was early discontinued, and, 
one by one, the remaining corpora- 
tions, including the Kansas Land and 
Emigration Company, passed out of 
existence. 

Several later settlers came from 
Shropshire, following in the course of 
the Alsop party. Messrs. Benjamin 
Adams, William Kynaston and Ralph 
Fowles sailed from Liverpool on April 
1, 1871, and landed in New York after 
a nine days' voyage. The two former 
settled in Union township. Mrs. 
Adams came out in the following 
August. A number of colonists came 
to the vicinity of Wakefield under the 
influence of the Kansas Land and Emi- 
gration Company but without con- 
necting themselves with the Wakefield 



The Wakefield Colony 



17 



Colony. The Bundles and Winsors 
can-ie to Junction City and took up 
claims in Dickinson County. Tliose 
of the Wakefield colonists, the time of 



whose coming is not definitely ascer- 
tained, will be noticed at greater length 
in the following account of the distri- 
bution and location of the Settlers. 



VI. 
The Distribution of the Early Settlers. 



(Remark: The following notation 
will be employed to define the situa- 
tion of farms belonging to the settlers 
mentioned. Fractional expressions 
will be used to denote the subdi\'l3ions 
both of sections and quarter-sections; 
thus, S. Yo of N. E. li of sec. 26, is to 
to be read, the south half of the north- 
east quarter of section 26.) 

In describing the distribution of the 
Wakefield colonists the writer will be 
guided chiefly by the second Marshall 
map. Many incidents of a descriptive 
nature, as well as many particulars 
concerning the settlers themselves, 
have been furnished by Mr. WiUiam 
Guy of Wakefield. The Map, to which 
reference has already been made, was 
drawn by Mr. J. P. Marshall about the 
year 1874. The area which it describes 
is bounded on the east by the hue rvm- 
ning between sections 4 and 5 (33-32) 
in RepubUcan towTiship; and:,on the 
west by the second section Une in 
Athelstane Township. It includes, 
therefore, the whole of Township 10, 
Range 3 east (Gill Township) and parts 
of the Townships adjoining it on the 
east and west respectively. The town- 
site of Wakefield, lying mainly in Sec- 
tion 5, Township 10, Range 4 east,"oc- 
cupies the upper right hand comer of 
the map. 
(a) THE AMERICAN SETTLERS. 
Our survey of the district occupied 
by the American settlers wiU begin 
with section 8. The proprietors of the 
northwest quarter of this section were 
Messrs. Gilbert and Streeter. They 
were Americans and had taken up 



their claims before the coming of the 
English colonists. Mr. Ed Southwick, 
the owner of the S. % of the S. E. }i, 
was the nephew of the Rev. Wilham 
Todd of Madura. The occupants of 
the north half of the section will be 
mentioned in our account of the En- 
ghsh settlers. The S. W. }i of Section 
8 was owned by the State Agricultural 
College (Organized, 1863; established 
at Manhattan, 187." ) 

On Section 17 the S. % was owned 
by Mr. J. B. Quinby and the N. E. i^ 
by IslT. W. E. Payne (N. %) and Rev. 
Wm. Todd (S. j/g.) The Todd house 
is still standing and is a typical repre- 
sentative of the better class of pioneer 
dwellings. The deep -set windows, the 
wood-work of native walnut lumber, 
the rooms long and low, aU character- 
ize the dwelling as unlike anything 
erected since the coming of the rail- 
road. School district No. 8, and sub- 
sequently the church organized there, 
derived their name from the fact of 
Mr. Todd's having been a missionary 
at Madura, in India. Mr. J. B. Quinby, 
who settled in Republican Township 
in 1857, owned the south half of section 
17, and, subsequently, also the N. W. 
1^ of section 20. From him Quinby 
Creek derives its name. 

The East % of the S. E. }i of Section 
20 was owned by Dr. Burt who had 
been an army surgeon in the Civil 
War. The Dr. and his wife (nee 
Locke) were both New England set- 
tlers. In the same neighborhood lived 
W. P. Gates, who, as a mere lad, had 
also seen miUtary service. In his ad- 



18 



The Wakefield Colony 



dress of Get. 10, 1894, Dr. Burt men- 
tions a settler named French who hke- 
wise Uved in that vicinity. 

In the district north of Wakefield 
the Avery family had taken up claims 
before the coming of the Enghsh col- 
onists. The first to settle in that 
vicinity was Mr. Albert Avery. His 
brother, Mr. Henry Avery, came some 
time later. They were natives of Or- 
leans (Jo., Vt., and were of English 
descent. The following account of 
the coming of the Averj^ family to 
this country occurs in the "Avery 
Family Record, Dedham Branch, 1650- 
1893": 

"Dr. WilUam Avery: We now take 
up the record of our earhest ancestors 
who crossed the Atlantic. He (Dr. 
W. Avery) in 1650 cast in his lot with 
the settlers of the town of Dedham, 
Mass., bringing with him his wife 
Margaret and three children from the 
parish of Earkham, county of Berk- 
shire, England." 

The pioneer settler in Gill township 
was Mr. Kirby. His claim included 
the S. y^ of the S. W. I4 of section 13 
and the N. Y^. of the N. E. % of section 
24. In the year 1868 his house was the 
only dwelling in the township. 

With regard to Athelstane township 
the following information is to be 
found in the Plat-Book (p. 21) : 

"The first settlers in this township 
were WiUiam Price and his son Mar- 
tin, who came Feb. 17, 1860." 

(b) THE ENGLISH SETTLERS. 
(1) Settlers in Twp. 10, Range 4, East. 

The townsite of Wakefield consisted 
of 120 acres in the N. W. J4 of section 
5, and the tv/o "eighties" (E. \i of N. 
E. ^, sec. 6; and N. J^ of S. W. }i of 
sec. 5) adjoining it on the west and 
south respectively. In Sec. 6, the east 
Yz was owned by Mr. R. T. Batchelor, 
the west half by Mr. Fitzgibbons, both 
of whom were members of the pioneer 
party. When the MarshaU map was 
drawn the Fitzgibbons homestead was 
owned by WiUiam Alia way. The west 



J^ of the N. E. ^ adjoining the town- 
site of Wakefield was owned by Mr. 
John Chapman. 

An account of my father's family 
has been given in connection with the 
hst of those who came out in the 
steamship Nebraska in 1869. My 
mother was the second daughter of 
Mr. WiUiam Hellier of Poundsford 
(Pitminster) , near Taunton. The Hel- 
liers had been settled for several gen- 
erations at Hennock, near Bovey 
Tracey (Devon) . Mrs. WiUiam HeUier 
was a daughter of Edmund Rich, Esq., 
of Cross House, Over-Stowey. The 
Riches of Stowey, Butcombe, and 
Bagborough were descended from 
"Samuel Rich, Esq., Gentleman," 
(Mural tablet in the parish church, 
Over-Stowey j, who flourished in the 
last quarter of the seventeenth cen- 
tury. On the extinction of the elder 
branch of the family (in 1815) my ma- 
ternal great-grandfather removed 
from Butcombe to Over-Stowey. 

The west half of the section was di- 
vided into four "eighties," lying east 
and west. The original proprietors 
were Messrs. Pettigrew (N. ^ of N. 
W. }x)i Bilhngham (S. Y of same, Geo. 
Taylor (N. M of S. W. 34'), and John 
Spooner (S. % of same), aU of whom 
came out in the steamship Nebraska 
in 1869. In 1873-4 the Geo. Taylor 
farm was owned by Mr. E. R. Hawes 
who came out with the Sparrowhawk 
party. 

Section 7, lying southwest of Wake- 
field, was assigned to the Directors of 
the colony: The N. E. I4 to Mr. John 
Wormald, the N. W. I4 to Mr. Alex- 
ander Maitland, the S. W. }i to Rev. 
Richard Wake, and the S. E. I4 to Mr. 
R. H. Drew. Of the proprietors men- 
tioned, Mr. Drew never became an 
actual settler, although he paid a visit 
to the colony in the early days and 
stayed with my father at his farm on 
section 6. In addition to the quarter 
section above-mentioned, Mr. Alex. 



The Wakefield Colony 



19 



Maitland owned the "eighty" (in T. 10, 
R. 3 east) adjoining it on the west and 
also the S. % of the S. W. U of Sec. 5 
adjoining the townsite of Wakefield. 
He erected a dweUing house on the 
first-named eighty and also com- 
menced to build a stone residence on 
the farm lying south of the townsite. 
About the year 1873-4 the Wormald 
quarter section appears to have 
changed hands. At some later time, 
the farm adjoining Wakefield on the 
south passed into the hands of Mr. 
Wormald and became known as the 
Wormald farm. 

The proprietors of Sec. 18 (adjoining 
Sec. 7 on the south) were Messrs. 
Skinner, Dodson and Dibben. The N. 
E. )^ of the section belonged to the 
State Agricultural College. 

Concerning Mr. Skinner I find the 
following entry in the "Forty-seventh 
Annual Session" of the Congregational 
State Association: 

"Edward Skinner was bom in Old 
Dalby, Leicestershire, England, Aug. 
24, 1837. He commenced preaching 
in England when 18 years of age. 
Came to America May 14, 1873. Pas- 
tor of Madura (Wakefield) and Milford 
churches in Kansas from 1873 to De- 
cember, 1879. Church was built in 
Milford during his pastorate, which 
was the first church in Kansas built 
without missionary aid. * * Died at 
his home in Blue Rapids (Kan.^) Jan. 
8, 1901." (pp. 42-43.) 

Mr. Skinner's homestead was the N. 
% of the N. W. U of section 18. On 
the S. W. I4 Mr. A. Gaston appears to 
have been preceded by a settler named 
Jacobus. 

On section 19, the proprietors were 
Messrs. Mark Dodson, Emory White 
and WiUiam Gaston. All these were 
of American birth. The Gaston fam- 
ily were Scotch -Irish Pennsylvanians. 
The south half of section 20 was owned 
by the following: Messrs. Walters, 
Gates, Eustace and Burt. The Walters 
and Eustace families were EngUsh. 
The N. E. ^ of section 30 was owned 



by Messrs. Lumb (N. \4,) and Wheel- 
right (S. k'O They were Yorkshire 
people. It may deserve mention that 
Mr. Lumb (now residing in Wakefield) 
possesses a copy of the "Breeches 
Bible" (so-called from its curious 
rendering of Gn. 3:7. Mr. Lumb's 
Bible was printed in 1599), that has 
come down from the reign of Queen 
Elizabeth. No entries appear on sec- 
tions 29 and 31 ; the west H o^ section 
32 has been mentioned as belonging to 
the State Agricultural College. The 
proprietors of the east half of the same 
section were Messrs. Thurlow and 
Lawton. The N. % of the N. E. I4 be- 
longed to Wilham Eustace whose 
homestead was on section 20. Blr. 
Robert Sparrowhawk came out with a 
large party in April, 1871, and settled 
on the N. E. 14: of so: tion 28. His for- 
mer home was at A^^ton imder Wych- 
wood (Oxfordshire.) A curious pass- 
age in Florence of Worchester's 
Chronicle shows that this surname is a 
survival of an Anglo-Saxon proper 
name current in the upper Thames 
valley in the days of Edward the Con- 
fessor. The entry reads: 

"A. D. 1050. Spearhafoc (Sparrow- 
hawk), abbot of Abingdon, was elected 
bishop of London, but was ejected by 
King Edward before consecration." 

The circumstance is remarkable be- 
cause Anglo-Saxon proper names fell 
into complete disuse soon after the 
Conquest. J. T. Tait and H. S. Walt- 
ers also held claims on section 28. 

(^2) SETTLERS IN TOWNSHIP 10 
SOUTH, RANGE 3 EAST. 
We shaU begin our survey of the 
township with the northeast comer— 
the point nearest Wakefield. Here, 
on section 1, the N. E. 1-4 belonged to 
Mr. T. P. Pettigrew. Forty acres of 
the S. E. 1-4, adjoining the Spooner 
farm on the west appear to have be- 
longed to John Spooner. On section 
12, there were eight proprietors. The 
E. 1-2 of the N. E. 1-4, adjoining his 



20 



The Wakefield Colony 



quarter section in Republican Town- 
ship belonged to Mr. Alexander Mait- 
land. In like manner, the E. 1-2 of 
the S. E. 1-4 belonged to the Rev. 
Richard Wake. The W. 1-2 of the N. 
E. 1-4 was the homestead of Mr. Benj. 
Budden. The east and west halves of 
the N. W. 1-4 belonged to Messrs. 
Eustace and Cowdery, respectively. 
R. N. Cowdery came from the neigh- 
borhood of Sahsbury, in Wiltshire; 
Mr. Eustace was from Oxfordshire. 
The W. 1-2 of the S. E. 1-4 belonged 
to Dr. Chas. Hewitt; the E. 1-2 of the 
S. W. 1-4 to Jason Withers; the W. 1-2 
to Arthur Marshall, a brother of Mr. 
J. P. Marshall. There were two With- 
ers brothers, Ralph and Jason. Jason 
was a son-in-law of Mr. Cowdery. 

On section 13, the S. 1-2 of the S. W. 
1-4 belonged to Mr. Kirby. The W. 
1-2 of the N. W. 1-4 was the property 
of Mr. J. P. Marshall. (This claim was 
originally purchased by Mr. James 
Marshall.) Mr. Marshall, to whom we 
owe the map upon which this account 
is largely based, was a native of New 
Alresford, in Hampshire. On section 
24, the N. W. 1-4 belonged to D. H. 
Dudy, an American and a veteran of 
the Civil War. The S. 1-2 of the N. E. 
1-4 adjoining Mr. Kirby's farm, be- 
longed to an Enghshman named 
(Thomas) Goosey. A son of Mr. 
Goosey's died in Wakefield and was 
btu'ied on his father's farm. On the 
S. 1-2 several of the names have been 
re -written. The entires are: S. E. 
1-4, E. 1-2 Gaston; W. 1-2, T. White; 
S. W. 1-4, E. 1-2, (WiUiam) Ware; W. 
1-2, Buckle. T. K. White was an 
American; WiUiam Ware, a Devon- 
shire man. The latter had hved for 
many years in the United States. On 
the N. W. 1-4 of Sec. 25 appears the 
name Blatch, on the corresponding 
1-4 of Sec. 36, R. Jones. Section 36 
was school land. 

We shall now resume our survey 
from the northern boundary of the 



township, beginning with sections 2 
and 3. On the former section the N. 
E. 1-4 was owned by Mr. O. R. Swee- 
zey, an American. His claim was 
"jumped" by an adventurer named 
Jack Beatty. Both names appear on 
the Marshall map. The E. 1-2 of the 
N. W. 1-4 belonged to Isaiah Jevons, 
a native of Staffordshire, but many 
years a resident in America. The V/. 
1-2 was owned by Mr. Lewin, but oc- 
cupied by Alfred Yarrow. The S. 1-2 
was divided into four eighties. The 
east and west halves of the S. E. 1-4 
were owned by Messrs. Shrivers and 
Guy, respectively. Both were from 
the covmty of Sussex. Mr. William 
Guy, to whom the writer is more ex- 
tensively indebted than to any other 
informant, was a native of Ripe, near 
Lewes, and came out on the Steamship 
Nebraska. In the early days of the 
settlement he hved on his farm on 
section 2. He is now proprietor of 
one of the leading business houses in 
Wakefield. 

The following changes in the owner- 
ship of the S. W. 1-4 of Sec. 2 took 
place before the Marshall map was 
drawn: 

The W. 1-2 was first occupied by 
Humphrey Hughes, afterwards by a 
Mr. PhiUips. The E. 1-2 of the quarter 
section was taken up by John Cole 
who came out on the Nebraska. It 
afterwards passed into the hands of 
Walter Parsons, whose sister married 
Mr. Phillips, the proprietor of the ad- 
joining "eighty." Both farms were 
eventually purchased by B. F. Jevons, 
son of Isaiah Jevons. 

The N. 1-2 of Sec. 3 was owned by 
Mr. Charles Ingram, a native of Co. 
Dorset, England. St. John's Church 
(Episcopal) was built on the N. E. 
corner of his estate. Mr. Ingram was 
a member of the executive committee 
of the Wakefield Agricultural and Lit- 
erary Society (see section 4.) He sus- 
tained serious injuries in trying to 



The Wakefield Colony 



21 



rescue some haystacks from a prairie 
fire, and, shortly afterwards, returned 
to England and died there. Three 
''eighties" on the N. 1-2 of Sec. 10 
were owned by members of the Tit- 
comb family, (Mrs. Titcomb and two 
sons, Mark and Edwin.) They were 
from London. The S. 1-2 of the N. E. 
1-4 belonged to John Bulmer. The S. 
E. 1-4 belonged to Thomas Holt and 
Richard Cawcutt. In 1873-4 the Holt 
farm was owned by Greo. Pearson. 
Both claims were afterw'ards purchased 
by J. K. Hammond. 

On section 10, the N. W. 1-4 was oc- 
<!upied by Gilbert Jones, son of a 
chemist in Sloane Street, Chelsea. 
The claim was raih-oad land and seems 
later to have reverted to the Railway 
Company. Gilbert Jones went back 
to England, probably about 1874. 

The W. 1-2 of the N. W. 1-4 of Sec. 
14 was owned by Mr. John Muston, 
the E. 1-2 of the same quarter by Ed- 
ward Moore. The latter was associate 
pastor of the Madura Union Church in 
the early days. They came out on the 
Nebraska in 1869. The Moore farm 
was afterwards purchased by Thomas 
Waller who came from the Lancashire 
border, not far from Staleybridge. 
The proprietor of the E. 1-2 of the N. 
E. 1-4 of Sec. 14 was James Marshall, 
a brother of Mr. J. P. Marshall. He 
married Miss Downey, a sister of Mrs. 
Alexander Maitland. He subsequently 
hved in St. Louis for about six years, 
and then returned to London, Eng- 
land. The W. 1-2 of the same quarter 
section was the homestead of Mr. J. 
P. Marshall. In a letter of recent date 
(Sept. 31, '08,) he says: 

"My homestead was the W. 1-2 of 
N. E. 1-4 of Sec. 14, T. 10, R. 3, and 
my brother James had the E. 1-2 of 
the same quarter. He also bought the 
W. 1- ■■ of N. W. 1-4 of 13. When he 
left I bought both pieces from him." 

Mr. Poppleton and his sons owned 
claims on the S. 1-2 of the section. 



The W. 1-2 of the S. W. 1-4 belonged 
to Edward Jones who came out with 
the Alsop party in 1870. Mr. Jones 
afterwards purchased the Batchelor 
farm on Sec. 6, in Republican Town- 
ship. By far the largest tract of land 
in Gill Township (Sec. 23, and 1-2 Sec. 
15) was owned, nominally at least, by 
parties named South worth. It is 
probable that they were not actual 
settlers and that the land eventually 
reverted to the company. The later 
proprietoi's of the Southworth section 
were C. M. Stone and J. M. McDougal. 

On section 22, the E. 1-2 of the N. 
W. 1-4 was owned by Mr. GiUett. He 
married a Bliss Eustace. On the S. W. 
1-4, the W. 1-2 was owned by John 
Pett who came out in the winter of 
18G9-70. The E. 1-2 belonged to J. W. 
Sampson who was a member of the 
Alsop party. On the S. E. 1-4, the N. 
1-2 was owned by Joseph Starling, the 
S. 1-2 by Charles Harris. Mr. Harris 
was a member of the Oxfordshire col- 
ony and the neatly painted house 
which he erected on his claim was a 
land- mark in the pioneer days. 

The proprietors of the N. W. 1-4 
of Sec. 28 were Messrs. Poppleton and 
Exley; the N. E. 1-4, Messrs. Gaston 
and Buckle. On the S. 1-2 of the sec- 
tion, the E. 1-2 of the S. W. 1-4 was 
owned by one of the Oxfordshire set- 
tlers named Cumber; the W. 1-2 was 
the property of James Clarke. John 
Chambers (of Co. Kent, England) 
owned the E. 1-2 of the S. E. 1-4. On 
section 28, three eighties were owned 
by members of the Seal family and one 
(E. 1-2 of N. E. 1-4) by Thos. Newell. 
Two "eighties" forming the eastern 
third of Sec. 21 were owned by Mr. 
Docking, and the S. 1-2 of section 4 
belonged to members of the Haden 
family. The N. E. 1-4 of the same 
section was the property of Mr. Mou- 
tree. The W. 1-2 belonged to an 
American settler named Lake. Con- 



22 



The Wakefield Colony 



ceming the remaining occupants of 
the township no definite information 
has been procured. 

Concerning Mr. R. Hamilton of 
Athelstane Township (N. 1-2 of N. E. 
1-4 of Sec. 26) the Plat-Book makes 
the following statement: 



"One of the foremost men in this 
township was R. Hamilton, who for- 
merly hved in Athelstane Ford, in 
Scotland. When the postofiice was 
established at his house he named it 
Athelstane ; and, when the township 
was formed, it took its name from the 
postofiice. * * The postofiice was 
estabhshed in 1873." 



The Wakefield Colony 



23 



VII. 
Conclusion. 



Our survey of the early history of 
the Wakefield colony closes with the 
year 1874. In that year Kansas was 
devastated by grasshoppers, and the 
settlers felt, not without reason, that 
the cup of their misfortunes was full. 
We shall give an account of the fate 
of the colony in general together with 
brief notices of the subsequent f ortmies 
of the settlers. 

The two chief drawbacks with which 
the colonists had to contend were the 
dry continental chmate, so different 
from that of England, and the adverse 
economic conditions. In addition to 
these there were also the many hard- 
ships incident to pioneer life. 

The change from an insular to a 
continental chmate has often proved 
one of the severest tests, not only of 
colonial enterprise, but also of military 
endurance. One need scarcely men- 
tion the sufferings of the British sol- 
diers during the Crimean War (Winter 
of 1854-5.) Life in the heart of a con- 
tinent has always been full of surprises 
to those who were born and brought 
up in islands or projecting coastlands. 
Herodotus, who visited the shores of 
the Black Sea in the 5th century B. C, 
has thus described his impressions of 
the chmate of southern Russia: 

"All this country which I have been 
speaking of is subject to such a severe 
winter, that for eight months the frost 
is so intolerable, that if you pour water 
on the groimd you will not make mud, 
but if you Ught a fire you will make 
mud." 

The glowing accomits issued by im- 
migration companies and the sharp 
practice often connected with real 
estate deals was one of the grievances 
of the colonists. The following inci- 
dent is vouched for by a family well 
known among the EngUsh settlers: 



On landing in New York they were 
met by the local agent of the National 
Land Co. who endeavored to drive a 
bargain with them for property in the 
far west. Faihng to effect the trans- 
action he gave them a sealed letter to 
the Company agent at Chicago. En 
route one of the members of the fam- 
ily said to the head of the house: 
"Father, I wouldn't carry a letter from 
one unknown person to another with 
whom you are no better acquainted; 
why don't you find out what is in the 
letter?" The suggestion was acted 
upon and the contents of the letter 
were found to be as follows : 

Dgri* "NT 

S and family think of going 

to Kansas. Fix them and remember 
me. Yours, etc., 

( ) 

But pioneer hfe, notwithstanding its 
hardships, did not lack its humorous 
side. Old settlers still speak of a pros- 
pectus that represented steamboats 
ascending the Eepubhcan river. The 
following incident is also illustrative : 
One day a number of the colonists 
were standing in the Company's oflSce 
at Wakefield. My father stood on one 
side of the room and near the corner 
on the opposite side stood a Mr. Vin- 
cent who was a man shghtly taller 
than the average. Just then a party 
of new-comers drove up to the door. 
Mr. Vincent and my father tiirned and 
winked at each other as much as to 
say : Some more innocents have come 
to learn the hardships of prairie hfe. 

The greatest drawback to the colony 
was found in the general economic 
conditions. The comitry had not re- 
covered from the effects of the Civil 
War. (Money was scarce and com- 
modities of all kinds expensive.) 



24 



The Wakefield Colony 



Means of communic?^tion were very 
inadequate and the markets of St. 
Louis and Chicago were only on the 
threshold of their development. There 
was no local demand for agricultural 
products and the Kansas City market 
was easily glutted. The lavish expen- 
diture of English capital in Clay, (Da- 
vis) Geary and Dickinson counties had 
no effect on the country at large. My 
father once said that during 1869-70, a 
quarter of a million of Enghsh money 
was spentin the district just mentioned 
where one couldn't have collected a 
million cents three years later. This 
estimate is confirmed by others. 

It was, however, after the grass- 
hopper-year that matters were seen 
in their severest guise. About that 
time my father described conditions 
as they then were through the columns 
of one of the West of England papers : 

"Five years is certainly long enough 
to give a thing a trial. * * When I 
tell you that scores who went out west 
with capital and every advantage 
would be glad enough to occupy a la- 
bourer's cottage and eat a labourer's 
food in England, you will know that 
they have been grievously disap- 
pointed. It is quite time that land is 
very cheap and that meat can be had 
at almost a nominal price. * * * 
When lecturers talk about the cheap- 
ness of things, it would be well if they 
would also tell the cost of raising the 
crop mentioned and the average price 
paid to the producer. I see by one of 
the letters, copies of which were cir- 
culated by the lecturers, that beef can 
be bought at IJ^ d. per lb. Where, 
then, can be the farmers' profit for 
raising cattle, and feeding them 
through the fearful winters, if they are 
afterwards disposed of at such prices? 
A good bullock should weigh 100 lbs. 
per quarter, or a total of 400 lbs., which 
at the price named, would amount to 
£2. 10 s. for the whole animal. If 
these things were considered over, it 
would be seen just where the shoe 

E inches ; and that many years of toil, 
ardship and disappointment must be 
endured before the prospects pre- 
sented can be reahzed. No one look- 
ing on can tell half of the real facts, 
and those who have gone through it 



aU find v/ords fail to express their full 
meaning." 

Bisappohitment was not peculiar ta 
the English colonists. An American 
settler. -wTiting to the Courier Journal 
of Louisville, Ky., says: "This state 
is a fraud on a grand scale." His re- 
marks apply both to the conditions 
then existing in Kansas and to the 
methods employed by colonizing 
agencies. His description is decidedly 
pessimistic : 

"The people are destitute and there 
is no money. The women are half- 
clothed and the men are bare -footed 
on the streets." 

The misfortunes of the sister colony 
at Victoria (Ellis Co.) were much 
greater than those of Wakefield. Mr. 
Grant died in the early days of the 
settlement and with his decease the 
moving spirit of the enterprise was 
gone. 

"Misfortune followed misfortune. 
Thousands of stock died. The colo- 
nists were discouraged and moved 
away, abandoning their homes and 
lands. Their places were filled by a 
large party from southern Russia." 

Mr. R. T. Bachelor, who visited Vic- 
toria in the winter of 1897-98, gives 
the following account of the church 
erected by the founder of the Victoria 
colony: 

"Our first visit was to the beautiful 
little church erected by Mr. Grant, at 
his own expense, in the year 1876, and 
which was not completed when he 
died. The first time it was used was 
for his funeral service. A handsome 
marble tablet inside the building and 
over the entrance commemorates his 
death. He was buried just west of the 
church and his grave is surrounded by 
a neat fence which has been kept up 
and cared for by a few of his old friends 
who still cherish his memory. The 
church was practically abandoned for 
many years, as those who were inter- 
ested were few and too much discour- 
aged to keep up and maintain the 
services. Lightning struck the build- 
ing and did much damage. The Rus- 
sian children made the church a play- 
ground. The fine organ was damaged 
by wet and ill-use. The stained glass 



The Wakefield Colony 



25 



windows were broken and desolation 
prevailed." 

This state of desolation was not, 
however, suffered to continue per- 
manently and, as Mr. Bachelor tells us : 
"Today the church appears as one of 
the most beautiful Episcopal churches 
for its size in the Diocese." 

A few words may be added concern- 
ing subsequent fortunes of some of, the 
settlers mentioned in the earlier sec- 
tions of this narrative. 

Rev. Richard Wake resided for some 
years in Topeka. He afterwards re- 
moved to Salt Lake City where he 
took active part in [the State Temper- 
ance Movement. Mr. Alexander 
Maitland went to Seattle, in the State 
of Washington. E. M. Fulcher, who 
afterwards owned the Maitland farm 
on Sec. 12, Gill Township, went to 
South Africa, but later returned to this 
covmtry and settled in San Francisco. 
Mr. T. P. Pettigrew, well known as the 
secretary of the Wakefield Agricul- 
tural and Literary Society, removed 
to Virginia and resided at or near 
Richmond. Rev. W. S. Crouch, in the 
early days proprietor of a timber 
claim on Sec. 30 in Republican Town- 
ship, has been for a number of years 
pastor of the Congregational chxirch 
at Maple Hill, Kan. Wilham Allaway, 
at one time proprietor of the Fitzgib- 
bon farm, removed to Clay Centre. 
John Brett also went to [Clay Centre. 
He died there and his widow married 
a Mr. Bradbury. John Farrington 
Alsop, son of Wm. Alsop, Esqr., of 
Cain's Creek, left Wakefield for Den- 
ver, Col, He was never heard of 
again. Felix James Fitters, better 
known at Wakefield as Jim Fitters, 
enlisted in the United States Army 
and fell with Gen. Custer at the battle 
of Little Big Horn, June 25, 1876. The 
Castor brothers settled in Texas. 
Robert Castor subsequently removed 
to the Pacific Slope. His brother, 
James H. Castor, is now a prosperous 



cattle man at Zulu, Texas. 

Many of those who left Wakefield in 
the early days went back to England. 
Among the number of ex-colonists 
were the following: 

Rev. Joseph Binns, who came out 
on the steamship Nebraska in 1869, 
afterwards returned to England and 
became a presiding elder in the Mid- 
lands. John Deere, who came out on 
the same ship, went back to Great 
Britain, and became proprietor of an 
iron- monger's business (hardware 
store) near the Elephant and Castle 
(London.) During his subsequent 
residence in England, my father on 
one occasion met Mr. Deere on the 
platform of the railway station at Ox- 
ford. Mr. Laundy, the first proprietor 
of the MouteUe farm, (N. 3^ of N. E. 
^ of Sec. 34 in Union township), was 
also one of those v/ho returned to 
England. Another ex-colonist was 
James Marshall, brother of Mr. John 
P. Marshall (See Sec. 6.) 

We have already noticed that Mr. 
Charles Ingram, one of the members 
of the executive committee of the 
Agricultural and Literary Society, also 
returned to England. His property in 
Gill Township, Sec. 3, was afterwards 
purchased by Mr. F. W. Cornell. Gil- 
bert Jones, whose claim was the N. 
W. 1-4 of Sec. 11 in the same township, 
also returned to England, probably 
about the year 1874. His land seems 
to have reverted to the company. 
Uriah Handley (from Cambridgeshire) 
whose claim was the S. W. 1-4 of Sec. 
27 in Exeter Township, afterwards re- 
sided near Bath, England, and engaged 
in the mining and manufacture of Fil- 
ler's earth. Another of the ex-colo- 
nists who went back to Great Britain 
was Mr. L. J. Millard (claim, S. W. 1-4 
Sec, 13, Athelstane Township.) Some 
years later my father, dming his stay 
in England, met Mr. Millard at Chip- 
penham in North Wiltshire. 

Among the Members of the Oxford- 



26 



The Wakefield Colony 



shire colony who returned to their 
native land were Messrs. Gillett (E. 
1-2, N. W. 1-4 Sec. 22, Gill Township), 
Charles Harris (S. 1-2 of S. E. 1-4), 
Cumber (E. 1-2 of S. W. 1-4 in Sec. 26), 
the Clinch Bros, and Mr. and Mrs. 
Jardine . Mr . Jardine was a s on - in - la w 
of James Eustace Esqr., and came out 
in the steamship "City of Washington" 
in April, 1870. He was afterwards 
connected with the firm of Himtley & 
Palmer, Biscuit Manufacturers, at 
Reading. Mr. Thomas Beldham in- 
formes me, on the authority of Frank 
Harris, who visited his old home some 
five years ago, that the Clinch Bros, 
have prospered since their return to 
the mother covmtry. Dtmcan CUnch 
is now a well-to-do veterinary surgeon 
in London. The Buckle family re- 
mained at Wakefield for nearly twenty 
years and then removed to Alberta, 
British America. 

The story of the Wakefield Colony 
is but a minor circumstance in the 
spread of the English-speaking race 



throughout the world. It has, how- 
ever, for those who took part in it, 
the same interest which a private sol- 
dier's recollections have for the battles 
in which he fought. 

In many ways the experiences of 
the English colonists of 1869-70 remind 
one of the first settlements in Virginia 
and New England. Unlike the Amer- 
ican settlers, the EngUsh had no weU- 
de fined idea of pioneer fife. They did 
not realize the greatness of the task 
that was before them. 

People cannot change their abodes, 
pass from an island to a continent, * 
from an ancient community to a new 
colony, * without changing their 
ideas and habits and ways of thinking, 
nay, without somewhat modifying in 
the course of a few generations their 
physical type." 

The interest which the story of 
Wakefield possesses is not merely 
local in character. It is an illustration, 
at first hand, of the movements and 
the changes that are going on every- 
where in the EngUsh-speaking world. 



The Wakefield Colony 



27 



Appendix I. 



REV. WILLIAM TODD AND ,THE 
MADURA MISSION. 

Madura, India, was from very early- 
times one of the chief seats of Hindoo 
paganism. Rev. Wm. Todd began 
work there as a missionary of the 
American Board in July, 1834. The 
mission celebrated its jubilee in 1884, 
when a small volume was published 
giving the history of the mission. 
There are now three native Protestant 
churches in the city (Madura Station, 
West Gate, Madura; and East Madura.) 
The statistics given in 1884 for the en- 
tire district were: "Stations, eleven; 
Churches, thirty-five; Communicants, 
2,817." In 1901 the mission reckoned 
4,911 church members and 17,276 ad- 
herents. 

The city of Madura dates from about 
500 B. C. From that period until 1064 
A. D. it was the seat of the Pandian 
kings. Megasthenes (about 300 B. C.) 
makes mention of the city and one of 
its kings sent an embassy to Augustus 
Caesar. After having been conquered 
by the Mohammedans (MaUk Kafur, 
1310 A. D.) the native kingdom was 
restored in 1559 by Vivanatha. The 
greatest of his descendants, Tirumala 



Nayakka (1623-1659), restored and 
beautified the great temple and built a 
magnificent palace. The kingdom 
came under British control in 1758 and 
was annexed in 1801. 

The Madura District is a veritable 
stronghold of Hinduism, From time 
immemorial Madura has been the re- 
Ugious capital of the southern extrem- 
ity of India. Here is the temple of the 
great goddess Meenatchi, the presiding 
deity of the city. "This temple covers 
143/^' acres, and is in size the third and 
in magnificence and upkeep the first 
temple in all India, and has hardly its 
equal anywhere among the ethnic re- 
hgions. A part of the temple is given 
up to the worship of Siva who, under 
the name of SockaUngam is the con- 
sort of Meenatchi. Meenatchi was 
originally an ancient queen of the Ma- 
dura country, and on her death became 
the presiding demonness of the devil- 
worship of the district, later when the 
Brahmans came to Southern India the 
new cult absorbed the old by marrying 
Meenatchi to Siva and giving her a 
place in the Hindu Pantheon." — Dr. 
Jones. 



2^ 



The Wakefield Colony 



Appendix 11. 



THE MARSHALL MAPS. 
(1) The First Map. 

The first map is entitled a "Map of 
Junction City, Kansas, and adjacent 
territory." It was published by the 
Davis County Emigration(8ic) Society, 
of which S. M. Strickler was president 
and A. C. Pierce secretary. The re- 
verse side of the map gives a pros- 
pectus of the advantages of Junction 
City and the surrounding district. 

The map shows the proposed course 
of the RepubUcan Valley Railroad as 
originally planned, and also a proposed 
line to Omaha running north by way 
of Five Mile Creek. Other points of 
interest are, (1) southeastern Clay Co. 
including the Wakefield neighborhood, 
(2) the mihtary reservation of Fort 
Riley, and (3) the hiUy country south 
of the Kansas River, extending from 
Lyons Creek to Humboldt Creek. The 
last-named district has been identified 
with the northern boundary of Quivira 
invaded by the Spanish conquerer 
Coronado in 1541. The mihtary reser- 
vation of Fort Riley contains the ruins 
of Pawnee, including the capital build- 
ing in which the territorial legislature 
met on July 2, 1855. The map extends 
as far west as the section on which St. 
John's church stands (Township 10 S., 
range 3 E . ) The creek flowing parallel 
to the east bank of the Repubhcan ap- 
pears to be wrongfully named. It is 
imquestionably the stream now known 
as Timber Creek. 

(2) The Second Map. 

The second map owes its origin to 
matters of practical interest. When 
the settlers came the land was one 
continuous expanse of rolling prairie 
broken only by the timber that skirted 
the banks of the larger creeks. There 
were no fences or boundaries and no 
striking pecuUarities of surface. A 



section seemed to owe its very identity 
to the presence of settlers upon it. In 
view of this practical difficulty Mr. J. 
P. Marshall made an outline chart of 
the township in which his claim was 
situated and from time to time entered 
the names of those who settled upon 
it. The map was drawn with paper 
and ink upon a sheet of ruled note- 
paper and measures 25.3x15.3 cm., or, 
with the margin 25.5x19.8 cm. It is 
much yellowed with age. Although 
the map was drawn in 1874, supple- 
mentary entries were occasionally 
made dinging the three or four follow- 
ing years. 

A few explanatory remarks may be 
added in this connection: 

(1) The shaded portions of the map 
represent claims purchased of the 
Kansas Land and Emigration Com- 
pany. This excludes Homesteads, 
technically so-called, as well as the 
farms of the earUer American settlers 
in the Quimby Creek Valley. 

(2) The dotted outline represents 
the boundary of the Golden Ridge 
School District. 

(3) The name (scarcely legible) on 
the S. E. }i of See. 17, T. 10, range 4 
East, is probably to be read "Purin- 
ton." The earhest entry on the N. % 
of the S. W. li of Sec. 10, in GiU town- 
ship, may possibly be read "Winter- 
bourne." 

r4) With regard to Sec. 15 (Gill 
Township) the evidence of the Mar- 
shall map has been called in question. 
The most Ukely solution is that which 
has been offered in the sixth section 
of this history. It is an explanation 
which must be accepted in the case of 
sections 11 and 31 in the same town- 
ship. Here land was purchased by 
settlers that afterwards unquestionably 
reverted to the corportion to which it 
originally belonged. 



The Wakefield Colony 



29 



A letter of recent date from Mr. 
Marshall contains so much interesting 
matter that I venture to cite it here 
although a brief extract has been in- 
serted in the body of the history : 

Wakefield, Sept. 31, '06. 
My Dear Friend: 

I fully appreciate your desire to sift 
out the truth and "hold fast that which 
is good." Men's memories become 
somewhat hazy as to matters occurring 
over one -third of a century ago, and 
even written records may be in error 
as boundaries were Uttle known and 
less understood during the first few 
years of settlement. 

With regard to the Jacobus land, I 
find that the first settler on that land 
was George Purinton, who Uved on it 
(but I do not remember any house or 
remains of one.) He sold it to Mr. 
Jacobus, who was a Congregational 
minister in Junction City — an old man, 
I believe. A. Gaston bought it from 
him or his assigns. The other piece 
of the A. Gaston place was first settled 
by H. W. Brown who sold it to Chas. 
Purinton and by whom it was sold to 
Gaston. 

Mr. Quimby settled on the quarter 
section of the place known as his. The 
other 240 acres he got from his brother 
Frank and a man named Robinson, 
both of whom went as soldiers during 
the Civil War and never returned. 

The Chnch boys brought with them 
Henry Buckle and as they were not of 
age, or for some other reason, per- 
haps, he took up the homestead on 



which they all Uved for several years. 
Henry Buckle died suddenly while 
driving cattle near Wamego, I think, 
and the right of homestead passed to 
his father, who came out with the re- 
mainder of the family. Mr. Chnch 
then came out and moved the stock to 
the place now owned by Richardson, 
joining Ed Southwick's on the north. 
Mr. Grant of London — the founder of 
the Victoria colony— bought most of 

the good stock. 

* * * 

The "80" now owned by JohnYovmg 
was first settled by a man from IlUnois 
who bviilt a sod house on the S. E. 
corner, Jason Withers, I think, got it 
for a tree claim, and then my brother 
Arthur had it. When he left I took it, 
selling it to the Youngs shortly after. 
Jason Withers married Miss Cowdery 
and lived on the E. 1-2 of S. W. 1-4, 
Sec. 12. 

m * * 

The Buckle on Sec. 26 was E. T. 
Buckle, who hved there before his 
marriage to Miss Young after he traded 
places with James Young. 

I enclose some sUps covering some 
of the discussed points and I think 
they will agree with my earUer map 
except that some of the Unes may be 
run east and west instead of north and 
south. In the early days with no roads 
or fences it was diflicult to teU which 
way the land lay. 

Hoping that these notes may be of 
use to you, I am. 

Yours very truly, 

JOHN P. MARSHALL. 




Tht First Msirsha.ll Map. 



% ! 




9. 

z: 



<« 

Z 



a 









t/2 






yz 



The Wakefield Colony 



Appendix HI. 



In constructing the chronological 
table I have selected chiefly those 
events that have a merely local char- 
acter, or else such as connect the his- 
tory of the Junction City district wdth 
the affairs of the state at large. 
(a) Indian Trails. 

Prom very early times the Indian 
tribes carried on a primitive sort of 
commerce by means of trails or track 
ways. At least two such trails inter- 
sected Kansas diagonally. One ap- 
pears to have passed up the north side 
of the Kansas river and then to have 
crossed the watershed from some 
point below Ellsworth to the great 
bend of the Arkansas. Another lead 
from the head waters of the Osage and 
the Neosho, crossing the trail pre- 
viously mentioned near Great Bend 
and then passing up the Arkansas to 
the mountains. The trail was contin- 
ued by way of the Rio de los Animas 
and the Raton Pass to the vaUey of 
the Rio Grand del Norte. These routes 
connected the Mississippi vaUey with 
New Mexico. 

(b) Harahey and Quivira. 

In the sixteenth century the country 
now known as Kansas was included in 
two regions called Harahey and Quiv- 
ira. Harahey was the territory of the 
Pawnee Indians. It embraced western 
Kansas but extended far beyond the 
borders of the state. Quivira lay for 
the most part between the Kansas and 
the Arkansas rivers. It was inter- 
sected by the trails previously men- 
tioned. When Coronado conquered 
the settled races of New Mexico in 
1541, the natives Im-ed him into the 
open plains of the interior, hoping thus 
to compass his destruction. On the 
march to Quivira the Spanish invaders 
crossed the state diagonally and 
seemed to have reached the Kansas 
river somewhere within the limits of 
the Junction City district. 

In the seventeenth centiu*y a band 
of the New Mexican natives revolted 
from the Spaniards and founded a 
settlement in Quivira. It was known 
to the Spaniards as Cuartelejo. In re- 
cent years the site has been identified 
and excavated. 



(c) Kansas a Border Land. 

Some centuries before the Colum- 
bian discovery the Siouan Indians mi- 
grated westward from the region of 
the Appalachian mountains. At the 
time of the Spanish Conquest they had 
spread over aU the more open regions 
of the Mississippi and the Missouri 
valleys. To this race belonged the 
Dakotas on the North, and the O ma- 
has, Kansas, and Wazhazhas (Osages) 
on the South. As the Siouan tribes 
pi'essed up the river valleys west of 
the Missouri thej^ came in conflict with 
the warlike Pawnees and Wichitas. 

By the {seventeenth century Kansas 
had already become the border land of 
the Siouan and Caddoan races. Each 
of the important rivers, the Kansas, 
the Osage and the Arkansas, was the 
highway of an invading tribe. The 
Kansas tribe eventually occupied the 
entire Kaw valley. It will thus be seen 
that the state owes its name to invad- 
ers from Missouri. On Vaugondy's 
map ( 1750) the eastern part of the state 
ah'eady appears as Pays des Cansees 
"land of the Kansas (Indians)." The 
Pawnees still retained possession of 
the central and western parts of Kan- 
sas and Nebraska. Their villages were 
on the Platte and Republican valleys. 

(d) Kansas the Frontier Between the 

Possessions of France and 

Spain, 1705-1803. 

In the first quarter of the eighteenth 
century Kansas became the borderland 
between the colonial empires of France 
and Spain. The French made their 
first expedition to the mouth of the 
Kansas river in 1705. 

On Sept. 27, 1719, M. Dutisne, a 
French officer, took formal possession 
of the Pawnee country in the name of 
the king of France. The following 
year the Spaniards attempted to found 
a colony on the banks of the Missouri, 
but were massacred by the Indians. 

In 1722-3 Fort Orleans, Mo., was 
founded by the French on an island 
near the mouth of the Osage river. 
The commandant, M. de Bourgmont, 
explored Kansas during the following 
year. "In 1725," says Spring, "Fort 
Orleans was captured by Kansas sav- 
ages and the garrison slaughtered. 



The Wakefield Colony 



33 



Details are wholly unknown. * The 
massacre effectually bUghted the en- 
thusiasm of the Frenchman for explo- 
ration in Kansas. 

(e) Kansas Comes Under the'^ Sov- 
ereignity of the United States. 
Kansas was included in the Louisiana 
Purchase of 1803, and was explored by 
Lieut. Z. M. Pike in 1806. On Sept. 
29th of that year Pike caused the Span- 
ish flag to be lowered and the United 
States flag to be raised at Pawnee Ke- 
pubhc (a village of the Pawnee Indians 
from which the Repubhcan river de- 



rives its name.) This was 265 years 
after the invasion of Ooronado and 81 
years after the destruction of Fort 
Orleans. 

In 1831-2 the United States began to 
remove the Indians of the Old North- 
west to reservations in Kansas. In 
1843, the Wyandottes came from Ohio 
and settled in eastern Kansas. They 
remained in the state about twelve 
years (1843-1855.) 

Kansas was opened for settlement 
on May 30, 1854, and after seven years 
of chequered territorial history became 
a state in 1861. 



Chronological Table. 



1854, March 30, The Kansas -Nebraska 
bill. 

Oct. 7, Andrew H. Reeder, first gov- 
ernor of the territory of Kansas, 
arrives at Leavenworth. 

1855, July 2-6, Session of the territorial 
legislature at Pawnee. (Ruins of 
the Capitol to be seen in the mili- 
tary reservation at Ft. Riley.) 

1856, (April), Moses, WiUiam and Jer- 
emiah Youngkens and John King 
settle on Timber Creek, (Grant 
Township.) 

1857, (Spring), Messrs. Quinby and 
Payne settle in Republican Town- 
ship. 

1858, (May), Rev. Wm. Todd (Repub- 
lican Township.) 

Dec. 2, Edwin Youngkens born. 

1859, House on the Wakefield Townsite 
built by James Gilbert. 

1860, July 25, Geo. Kirby born (first 
child of American parentage in 
Gill Township.) 

1861, Jan. 30, Kansas admitted to the 
Union. 

1868, July 4, Madura school house 
opened. 

Sept. 17, Battle of Arickaree, decis- 
ive overthrow of the Plains Indians 

(Nov.), James H. Harvey, governor 
of Kansas. (Re-elected., 1870.) 
1869j July 12, Messrs. Pierce and Wake 
inspect the land between Chapman 
Creek and Wakefield. 

Aug. 12, H. S. Walter and P. GilUes 
settle in Repubhcan Township. 

Aug. 21, John Wormald, Alexander 
Maitland, R. T. Batchelor and oth- 
ers arrive in Junction City. 

The pioneer party left England 
Aug. 3rd, landed in New York on 
the 15th, reaches Junction City the 
21st. 



Aug. 25, PreUminary organization of 
the Kansas Land and Emigration 
Company, ("Incorporated Aug. 
25, 1869"). 

Aug. 26, The townsite of Wakefield 
laid out by Richard Wake, John 
Wormald, Alexander Maitland and 
Col. Loomis. 

Sept. 15, The "Nebraska party" sails 
from Liverpool, lands in New York 
on the 29th and arrives in Junction 
Ciiy Oct. 6th. 

Oct. 12, Meeting of the Stockholders 
at the Hale House, Junction City. 

1870, Jan. 16, A severe Blizzard occa- 
sions much suffering. 

April 6, The Alsop party sailed from 
Liverpool. On the 25th they are 
met at Junction City by Rev. 
Richard Wake. 

May 8, Methodist Episcopal Church 
organized. 

May 30, The Wakefield Ferry & 
Bridge Co. incorporated. 

(Summer) Drought and crop failure. 

1871, Jan. 25-Mar. 8, Sessions of the 
Wakefield Agricultural and Liter- 
ary Society recorded in the Wake- 
field Herald, Vol. I, No. 3. 

(Spring) Organization of the month- 
ly market. 

April 5, The Sparrowhawk party 
leaves England. 

1872, Thomas A. Osborn, governor of 
Kansas, (re-elected, 1874.) 

1874, Kansas devastated by grasshop- 
pers. 
First vestry meeting (Oct. 14th) of 
the Episcopal church. 
187ii, April, St. John's church dedicated 
June 25, Battle of Little Big Horn. 
Felix James Fitters, a Wakefield 
colonist, among the slain. 



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LE S '09 



